In Va. Beach, tight-knit SEAL community mourns the fallen

VIRGINIA BEACH

Current and former SEALs texted, emailed and called one another with the news. Word spreads fast in the close-knit community-within-a-covert-community that is SEAL Team 6, and in the wee hours of Saturday morning they already knew the worst - more than 20 of their SEAL brothers had been killed.

Those lucky enough to be home hugged their families tightly, thankful for their fortune and yet guilty about it, too. Wives began making casseroles, offering to baby-sit or stand vigil at the houses of girlfriends fearing the worst.

SEALs who'd worked alongside the fallen recalled their last conversations, or talks they had about dying, with men they considered brothers. They went to the gym, or went on long runs or swims, taking solace in the mindlessness of exercise.

Some gathered at a member's house, taking comfort in the presence of others who shared their thoughts. Others preferred to stay home with people who wouldn't press them to talk about the pain.

In tragedy, as in triumph, few of the special operations sailors wished to share their names.

Even among this special community, few details were known about the circumstances surrounding the helicopter attack that claimed the lives of 30 Americans, seven Afghans and one interpreter.

"We're waiting for information, like everyone else," said one retired SEAL and original member of Team 6, speaking on the condition that his name not be used.

While residents here puffed out their chests with pride after these Navy commandos - their commandos - slipped into Pakistan and took out Osama bin Laden, those same residents were devastated Saturday. Community members turned to social media sites in search of details and to offer prayers for the fallen. By midday, several online memorial pages had been created. The websites hailed the fallen sailors as loving husbands, brothers, sons, heroes.

"We so often forget the sacrifices that they make on our behalf every day," said Mayor Will Sessoms, who ordered all flags on city buildings to be flown at half-staff.

Many in the SEAL community had warned against drawing too much attention to the unit after the raid on bin Laden. Already Saturday, some wondered whether the rocket attack could have been prevented.

"Why would you want to bring any attention to yourself?" the former SEAL Team 6 member said. "Team guys just want to go about their business without shining a big spotlight on themselves. Most of them just want to do their jobs and go home."

Waiting for official word after a major attack can be agonizing in a military community like Virginia Beach, said Vivian Greentree of Blue Star Families, a military support group with a chapter in Hampton Roads. She and others in her organization probably will meet face-to-face and share tears with families and friends of the fallen.

"Here, in a military community, these casualties are not just statistics," Greentree said. "They are family members, neighbors, someone's child. When something like this happens, it's so immediate nobody has time to process any emotions. We're still reeling and waiting for information."

Few details of the attack have been released, but it bears a haunting resemblance to another helicopter crash in Afghanistan six years ago that claimed the lives of 16 Navy SEALs and Army special operations troops, including five assigned to SEAL Team 10 at Little Creek.

Until Saturday, that day - June 28, 2005 - marked the greatest single loss of life in the SEALs' nearly 50-year history, as well as the deadliest crash of the Afghan war.

Virginia Beach Councilman Bill DeSteph, a retired Naval Special Warfare intelligence officer with deep connections in the SEAL community, said he was heartbroken back in 2005, and again Saturday.

"It's a tragedy," he said.

Mike Hixenbaugh, (757) 222-5117, mike.hixenbaugh@pilotonline.com